About Awakening Fires Ministry

Awakening Fires began as a dream to bring God’s presence to the hard places of Macon. For five years, tents were set up in certain neighborhoods we believe face some of the greatest challenges here in Macon, Georgia. We call these communities the “hard” places and we are believing in the power of transformation through God’s healing Word and Presence. During week-long events, we sought His heart for these locations and engaged with the community through praise, worship, and intercession. In 2014, through miraculous provision, our first Hope Center, Redeeming Hope Center, was established.

We believe the Lord wants to do something in our city that will be a blessing to the world. If you have a burden to pray for our city, we would love to have you join us to cover our city in prayer and praise.

Joshua Club

“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 (NIV)

A native of Chicago, Illinois, Shirlynn Kelly was called to youth ministry in 1994. She has served hundreds of youth in Georgia, Haiti, Peru, New York, and London, England. The common denominator in every people group is their need for Jesus Christ, and the hope freely given by Him. Her passion to share the Good News of the Gospel with youth has afforded her the privilege of serving as Youth Director at Awakening Fires Ministry. Committed to Jesus Christ and His command to “go”, she believes that a youth culture that trusts and obeys God’s Word is the transforming power that cultivates hope not despair, and light rather than darkness.

Obedience brings blessings. The Word of God is our compass. Shirlynn leads this outreach effort for the children of Fort Hill: games, activities, bible study, fun, and food. This ministry serves as an open door to the community. It leads to getting children involved in summer activities as well as connecting children to martial arts, community choir, Camp Grace, summer gardening, football, and tutoring.

Joshua Club meets every Wednesday from 6:00-7:30PM in the Youth Room of Redeeming Hope Center, a safe and fun environment. We encourage and equip youth to develop personal relationships with Jesus Christ. Our mission is to share Jesus Christ through Word and deed transforming lives to the Glory of God.

Martial Arts

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

2 Timothy 1:7

Martial Arts is a great tool to teach discipline and self-control. We are called to make disciples; and it is impossible to be a disciple without discipline. Sensei Caleb Antoine and Mr. Chris Cole have faithfully served the families of Awakening Fires and Fort Hill for over three years. Sensei Caleb is a 3rd dan Black Belt and Mr. Chris is a 6th dan Black Belt. They both enjoy engaging in the development of their students. One of their favorite activities is to take students to competitions around the state.

Born in Haiti, Sensei Caleb is an ordained minister whose family has an orphanage in Haiti and he, along with his family, return as often as possible to pray for and minister to the children of Haiti. Sensei Caleb began his martial arts training in 1997. During the day, Sensei Caleb works for the Bibb County School District helping students develop discipline and responsibility. It is his great passion to work with youth through the church, at work and in his neighborhood.

“Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle.” Psalm 144:1

Sensei Caleb and Mr. Chris conduct workouts and training every Monday and Wednesday from 4:30PM to 6:00PM in the Redeeming Hope Center. Their classes are year-round and open to all ages.

Worshiping Warriors

“Enter His gates with thanksgiving; go into His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.” Psalm 100: 4

Macon is a city with a rich musical heritage. Music is a powerful weapon and tool in delivering God’s presence. We know that God responds to the cry of His people. Therefore, we are gathering experienced worshipers, raising up young singers and musicians, training them to both cry out to God and sing and pronounce the hope of His response. On Monday evenings from 6:30pm – 8:30pm, we are developing a community choir and training and preparing worship leaders for upcoming Tent Events in the Spring of 2019.

Kathy McClary is an innovative and inspiring singer- songwriter, author, and speaker. Kathy has shared the stage with Grammy-award artists such as Israel Houghton, CeCe Winans, and many more. She has over 25 years’ experience as a minister and a director of worship. Kathy sponsors concerts and events in support of abused children and those in need. Kathy tours the country speaking, singing and conducting music workshops and worship training seminars at performing venues, churches and universities.

Torri Murphy felt the Lord’s calling on her life at a young age. During high school, she was accepted into the talent development agency, Actors, Models, and Talent for Christ, where she trained in voice, performance, and modeling. After high school she attended Seacoast School of Worship, where she recorded her second EP. In 2016 she began interning and leading worship at Awakening Fires, where she is currently the Worship Director. She has been married to John, her amazing husband for a little over a year and they have a lovely daughter, Phoenix.

Football and Mentoring

We love all the children of Macon. At Awakening Fires Ministry, we are especially drawn to support, nurture and develop young men. We want to see young boys flourish mentally, socially, physically and spiritually. We believe football is a high impact solution to the heart of young men. As coaches, we have the opportunity to spend 10 to 15 hours a week with young boys teaching them about teamwork, responsibility, and physical and mental toughness.

In 2018, we partnered with the Central Georgia Raiders and joined the Metro Atlanta Youth Football Conference (MAYFC). Our young men enjoyed the opportunity to play teams from all over the state of Georgia. We had four teams compete in various age groups from 5 to 12 years old: 5-6; 7-8; 9-10; and 11-12-year-olds. Two of our four teams made the playoffs in this, our very first season.

We look forward to growing our teams and deepening our relationships in the years to come.

Partnering with Northeast Raiders

Our intention is to use football as a vehicle to engage the young men of Fort Hill. Our practices are held in Davis Homes, and we are actively pursuing relationships with the coaches and team at Northeast High School. We desire for our football teams to feed into the middle and high school team on the “Eastside.”

We also enjoyed serving the Northeast High School Raiders varsity and Junior Varsity teams a spaghetti dinner each Monday night for this past season (2018), and we believe they enjoyed it as well. We look forward to building and expanding our relationships with the Northeast High School coaches and players and cheering them on.

Tent Events

Before there was a (Redeeming) Hope Center or any other outreach effort, there was a vision to take the presence of God to the hardest places of our city through prayer, praise and intercession. This will always be the core mission of Awakening Fires Ministry, and we look forward to these tent events returning in 2019.